Created for Care 2012…

This past weekend, I got the treat of going to Created for Care…and retreat for adopting moms!  I went last year, and I knew I wanted to go back.  This year, I recruited some more people to go with me, and we had a blast!  This year they did two retreats; one in January and one in March. I originally planned on going in Jan. but the retreat filled up so quickly (within a few hours) so not all of us got a spot.  So, we decided to wait and go in March.  I am so thankful I went.  I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to be in a room of women (around 450!) that are like-minded!  I think sometimes people think we are CRAZY to be on this adoption journey, but NO ONE at this retreat does!  It is not abnormal at all to speak to a mom that has 3, 4, 5 or maybe even 10 adopted kiddos.  All of these women have a heart for orphans and adoption, but not only do they have a heart for it, they have taken action.  We watched a video of a couple that moved to Uganda with their 2 year old son to speed up there adoption process and ended up living there and establishing a non for profit agency (Light Gives Heat) that helps 120 women support themselves by making beaded jewelry plus many other things.  Did anyone at this retreat think that was crazy?  NO!  We were so inspired!  Would most “normal” people think that was crazy?  Absolutely!  Anyway, I just admire people who put their faith into action even when people think they have gone off of the deep end.  Okay…I’m stepping off my soapbox now.  Onto pictures…

Here is our little group that traveled together from MS! Emily (adopting from Korea), Meghan (adopting from Ethiopia), Me, Jill (adoption from Ethiopia), Mimi (has baby James that was adopted domestically) and McCall (has a HUGE heart for Africa and is patiently waiting on the Lord to see what than entails!)  We had so much fun together, and as you can imagine, I don’t think there was a lull for more than 10 seconds because we talked the entire time!

Jill and me…I’m so thankful to have Jill right here in the same town walking this journey together.  I met so many women this weekend that don’t have any other people that they know of in their towns adopting. I can imagine that would be a lonely place!

Alisha, Me and Dianna.  I met Dianna the first night and we just hit it off!  I enjoyed getting to know her so much.  She is adopting a baby boy from Ethiopia, and we are using the same agency.  She said right before I met her that she had prayed that God would send her one friend during the weekend.  Soon after we started talking, she teared up and said that God had answered her prayer by sending me.  Oh my goodness, how humbling!  It was NO accident that we got to sit together!  I was more blessed than she was.  Alisha is adopting a girl from Ethiopia.  She is single, so I greatly admire her strength to walk this road on her own!

Me and McCall

Meaghan and me – I was so thankful to finally meet Meaghan in person.  We have been talking on the phone now for months!  She emailed me last summer after she read my blog.  Now, she and her husband are on the waiting list for a little boy from Ethiopia with our same agency!

This cross had hundreds of sticky notes on it that had prayer requests written on them from all of the women. There was a breakout session called “Date with God”.  It was a wonderful hour of time where we could just really focus on the Lord’s presence.  We could do different activities like paint, sculpt, pray over a huge map of the world, and spend time in the Word.  There was also a prayer wall that we were encourage to go to and pray for 2 of the requests on the wall.  As I read over some of the requests, I just began weeping.  There are so many hurting people, and I just considered it a privilege to be able to pray for some of them.  They were eventually stuck to this cross in the main banquet room as a reminder to pray!

I had to take my picture with this amazing lady.  Her name is Julia.  She adopted a sibling group of 5 domestically.  So, she and her husband went from 0 to 5 kids in a very short amount of time.  Wow!!  Talk about having faith.  I told her I just had to hug her neck.  Again, there stories like this are incredible to  me and too many to count among the women we were with!

Emily, Mimi, Meaghan, and Jill ready to hit the road and head home!

Jill and me again.

The six of us back in Tupelo after spending a lot of time in Meaghan’s mommy mobile!

I was happy to get back to my family!  I brought the girls shirts back from Ordinary Hero.  They say, “I’m Gonna Change The World!”  Oh, I hope they do!

I can’t get enough of Selah in her glasses.  I think she just looks too cute!

She has figured out how to play with Myla’s iTouch.  It leads to MANY fights during the day of who is going to get to play with it!

Giving Daddy love before bed!

It’s wonderful to be with such amazing women at an event like Created for Care, but oh, how much I love coming home to these three people!